Graduate School of Public Health, St. Luke's International University, 3-6-2-5F Tsukiji, Chuo, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
Department of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan.
Ann Glob Health. 2023 Sep 28;89(1):63. doi: 10.5334/aogh.4199. eCollection 2023.
Undernutrition, including stunting, is the cause of almost 45% of all deaths among children under the age of five. It not only affects child growth but also has a long-term negative influence on cognitive and physical abilities. Timor-Leste has the highest prevalence of child stunting in Southeast Asia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the prevalence of stunting and factors associated with it.
This was a cross-sectional study conducted using the Demographic and Health Survey of 2016 for Timor-Leste. The prevalence of stunting among children under five years of age was examined, and bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors associated with stunting.
Among 4,581 children under five years of age, growth in nearly 40% was stunted. The majority of the mothers with stunted children were of age 20-30 years with about 33% having their first baby at ≤19 years of age. Compared to women of <145 cm of height, those of ≥145 cm height had lower likelihood of having a stunted child (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: [0.48-0.80], < 0.001). It was also interesting to note that the risk of stunting was lower among female children than male children [OR: 0.75, 95% CI: (0.64-0.88), < 0.001] in our adjusted model. Similarly, other factors such as wealth index, postnatal care visits, currently breastfeeding, age of the child, and size of the child at birth were also associated with stunting.
The present findings indicate that child stunting in Timor-Leste is mainly associated with maternal and child sociodemographic status. Hence, it is crucial to identify the quality of services provided by health facilities, the involvement of health workers and volunteers, and the intention of mothers to use the health services in Timor-Leste.
营养不良，包括发育迟缓，是导致五岁以下儿童死亡的主要原因之一，约占 45%。它不仅影响儿童的生长发育，而且对认知和身体能力也有长期的负面影响。东帝汶是东南亚儿童发育迟缓率最高的国家。因此，本研究旨在确定发育迟缓的流行情况和相关因素。
这是一项使用 2016 年东帝汶人口与健康调查进行的横断面研究。检查了五岁以下儿童发育迟缓的流行情况，并进行了单变量和多变量逻辑回归分析，以确定与发育迟缓相关的因素。
在 4581 名五岁以下儿童中，将近 40%的儿童发育迟缓。大多数发育迟缓儿童的母亲年龄在 20-30 岁之间，约 33%的母亲在 19 岁及以下生育第一胎。与身高<145cm 的女性相比，身高≥145cm 的女性生育发育迟缓儿童的可能性较低（OR：0.62，95%CI：[0.48-0.80]，<0.001）。有趣的是，在我们的调整模型中，女性儿童比男性儿童发育迟缓的风险较低（OR：0.75，95%CI：（0.64-0.88），<0.001）。同样，其他因素，如财富指数、产后护理访问次数、当前母乳喂养情况、儿童年龄和出生时儿童的大小也与发育迟缓有关。
本研究结果表明，东帝汶儿童发育迟缓主要与母婴社会人口地位有关。因此，必须确定东帝汶卫生机构提供的服务质量、卫生工作者和志愿者的参与程度以及母亲使用卫生服务的意愿。
